Daily COVID-19 cases have reached a new high of nearly 55-thousand.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said Saturday that 54-thousand-941 infections were confirmed throughout Friday with the majority being local transmissions and a little over a hundred from overseas.

The daily tally is above 50-thousand for a third straight day amid the rampant spread of the omicron variant.

The country's accumulated caseload is nearing 130-thousand.

The number of critically ill patients has risen by four from the previous day to 275, while 33 deaths were reported in the past 24 hours, raising the death toll to seven-thousand-45. The fatality rate stands at zero-point-54 percent.

Around 20 percent of ICU beds are occupied nationwide and close to 200-thousand people are recovering from COVID-19 at home.